World Trade Center steel lives on in naval warship

It’s nice to see at least part of the scrap steel being used for something appropriate. It seemed odd somehow that the scrap was mostly taken away to be reprocessed in Asia.

The Record (NorthJersey.com)

The brains behind the use of salvaged World Trade Center steel in a new Navy warship is a Rutherford volunteer firefighter excited about seeing his vision christened this weekend as the USS New York.

Her name is New York, but to Scott Koen, she is a phoenix.

The christening will take place Saturday at a Louisiana shipyard with a bottle of champagne smashed across her bow, which contains 24 tons of steel that once towered over Lower Manhattan.

Armed with air-defense missiles and two 30mm guns for close combat, the USS New York is designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It can carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines who can reach shore by helicopter and assault craft.